Sport 350 engine

[USAndretti42]

A lot of the water could have got into the sump after you turned off the engine. The cooling system would have been pressurized and, if, say, the liner seal had gone, it would have pumped water into the sump quite happily.

Good luck.

[Daniel]

so it's looking more and more like a liner.

one thing I've just noticed is that the turbo on the damaged bank will spin only about 5mm in each direction before clinking to a stop against something metal......could explain the tinny rattle I heard before it went bang?

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Dan,

Oh my.... the injector clip must have come as something of a surprise?

If the turbo is not able to move freely, then I imagine that you have some liner/piston related material that is fouling the turbine. Could be a chunk of something or a piece of ring... only one way to find out - get the head off and embrace the full horror.

Let

[Daniel]

So.....the damage:

Basically a piston fragmenting and dropping down into the crank leaving the con rod and gudgeon to do all sorts of damage:

but not before giving the head and valves a bit of a shoeing:

hoping that the dents in the head will polish out, what do you think?.......

So it's new pistons and liners, new valves, repaired and ported head.

Now to see what damage has been done down below..........

[Advantage]

Crikey! Top work that man on a good dose of engine destruction.

[Simon350S]

WOW, an entire piston missing

The injector clip must have made you giggle a little! Not sure about the head just polishing out, it looks quite bad in the pics, but there may be something that can be done.

Fingers crossed!

Can't wait to see the photos of the sump off!!!

[mike_sekinger]

Oh dear... that is an awful mess.

I would be getting that cylinder head thoroughly examined to confirm that it is useable.

With that level of destruction, you can expect some damage below - the piston jet is almost certainly toast. Let

Edited January 10, 2009 by mike_sekinger

[gmendoza]

Wow. That's some damage!!! Hard to believe that was done with standard boost levels.

Edited January 10, 2009 by gmendoza

[silverfrost]

One word BUGGER

Sorry to see the damage is that bad dan, I feel for you mate and hope you can manage to save the engine,

looks expensive!

Take care regards danny

[Daniel]

So, sump off to assess the bottom end damage, disintegrated piston in the sump, but the crank looks OK:

Then .......oh ohhhhhhh, colossal hole in the block inner lining:

Oil way should look like this:

So..........here endeth the rebuild I guess...........gutted is not the word.

[mike_sekinger]

Argh..... messy.

Don

[Winter]

Indeed, Mike's right.

It's surprising - amazing even - just what can be repaired. Welding, then machining can work wonders. Finding a good welder can be problematic but they are around.

A possible downside of welding is adverse interference with hardening of castings. However, a good welder should know about this and perhaps more importantly, how to avoid softening.

So, your block and head are still in with a chance.

[Daniel]

On reflection it's maybe not that bad......I guess a decent welder could cut a section out and weld a piece in.

One more thing to add to the list.....find a decent welder.

Mike.....looks like I'm getting closer to knowing the contents of my 'shopping list'.

[david]

Deepest sympathies, Daniel, and good luck with the next stage. Have a good check of the oil pump. I had a cam follower disintegrate in my Mk 1 Scirocco and the bits ruined the oil pump too.

Since the turbo is still partially turning, hopefully no bits have been pumped in the oil lines to that causing it to seize.

Looking forward to your next installment, hopefully with some better news.

[mr.oogieboogie]

bugger, not seen that kind of damage for ages, well not since i borrowed my girlfriend's (girl friend at the time) brother-in-law my 1967 sunbeam alpine he blew a hole in the sump large enough to put your hand in. i was well pissed off as the car had only been restored and on the road for a few weeks (at least they now have rev limiters). still sold it and went to tennerief for a couple of weeks. good luck with the rebuild, looks knackered to me, but i hope you can get it repaired.

[Scatt]

Hey Dan,

Not suprised your gutted but as Mike said dont give up yet having been in fabrication and welding I would suggest you look up metal stitchers. Ok they are more for cracked castings etc but they could probably let in a patch and stitch it which locks it to the parent metal more effectively than just butt welding giving a stronger repair with less distortion.

GOOD LUCK !

[redshift]

I would suggest you look up metal stitchers.

If the rest of the block and crank are OK then I'm not sure its terminal.

Hope thats the total extent of the damage and nothing else comes to light.

[kyliesmith.com]

Yip im with Pete above, keep going on this and dont give up. You have so much support here to get it back together.

Best wishes

Kylie

[david hopwood]

Daniel, give these guys a call, they should be able to sort out the damage to the block for you .

They are based in Rochdale and are called Impulse Developments 01706 650800

good look

[Daniel]

Cheers Kylie!!!

Thanks for that David, I'll have the crank stripped this weekend and get a grasp on the full extent of the damage.

[Bibs]

Remember you still need to find the cause of the damage if possible too.

[Daniel]

Well

I sold my beloved Range Rover today to raise funds as I've been offered an engine from the Factory.

I'll be arranging delivery on Monday.

My thanks go to Bibs for putting me in touch with Lotus in the first place and also to Brian Angus at the factory for all his help diagnosing the failure.

Sad to see the back of the Rangey, but when I think about having the 350 back on the road I'm like "Range Rover?......what Range Rover?"

[silverfrost]

Daniel,

Glad to see you have finally found light at the end of the tunnel for getting your 350 back on the road,

Sorry to see the engine could not be saved, and nice to see bibs helped you out, well done that man!

Hope you get her back on the road soon

regards danny

[M3S2k]

Ouch, that is one seriously damaged motor. I'm really glad to hear you are getting things sorted!!

[Simon350S]

Glad you've got a solution. Look forward to seeing her back on the road.